“I Am the Mouse”: The Ballad That Betrayed Ovidio Guzmán and Led to His Capture

Few criminals in Mexico have achieved public notoriety as quickly as Ovidio Guzmán López. After his release amid a failed army operation in October 2019—an episode that unleashed a wave of violence known as the Culiacanazo—his figure went from being inconspicuous to becoming a symbol of power for the “Los Chapitos” faction within the Sinaloa Cartel.

Two years later, his story was turned into a ballad: “I Am the Mouse,” performed by Código FN, a song that portrays him as a leader, heir, and “survivor.”

British journalist Ioan Grillo argues that this ballad not only consolidated the Ovidio myth but also provided clues about his location and operational identity, becoming not only good propaganda but also a serious mistake for the kingpin.

“It was the corrido, not the DEA, that first revealed where Ovidio was,” he said in an interview with journalist Óscar Balderas for the program “Esquina Balderas” on the YouTube channel La Saga. The song includes direct references to his entourage, his allies, his lineage, and—explicitly—the place where he would be recaptured in 2023: Jesús María.